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The Government will be embarking on a new technologically-driven food production drive, supported by improved marketing arrangements to transform significantly, the agricultural and agro-processing sectors. This was announced by Governor General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, when he delivered the Throne Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, today (March 27). Sir Kenneth underscored the importance...

Education Minister, Andrew Holness has announced plans by government to establish cluster boards that will have responsibility for the management of the country's early childhood institutions. Speaking at the launch of the 2008 staging of the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston's spelling competition at the Hilton Kingston Hotel on Wednesday (Match 26), Mr. Holness said this decision comes against the...

Governor General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Professor Sir Kenneth Hall has said a National Gender Policy is being crafted in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to achieve gender equality. "The Government is committed to a gender mainstreaming policy, which will involve gender-specific interventions aimed at addressing the needs of victimized and disadvantaged groups in various...

As part of the programme for social and economic development, the Government will, during the 2008/09 fiscal year, focus on the enhancement of the cultural industries sector, in particular music, film, entertainment and fashion. Governor General, His Excellency, The Most Hon. Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, in his Throne Speech at the State Opening of Parliament at Gordon House, today (March...

The Government has put forward a budget of $489.52 billion, with $304.44 billion earmarked for Recurrent (house-keeping) expenses and $185.08 billion for Capital (development) obligations. Details of these projections are included in the 2008/09 Estimates of Expenditure, which were tabled in the House of Representatives, today (March 27), by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw. When the...

The Government has put forward a budget of $489.52 billion, with $304.44 billion earmarked for Recurrent (house-keeping) expenses and $185.08 billion for Capital (development) obligations. Details of these projections are included in the 2008/09 Estimates of Expenditure, which were tabled in the House of Representatives, today (March 27), by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw. When the...

The Government will be establishing a one billion dollar rural agricultural diversification programme in banana producing parishes during the next financial year, to promote increased agricultural production and productivity in those parishes. This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Robert Montague, at the 22nd annual St. Mary Agricultural Expo held at the Gray's...

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Caribbean Agri-business Association (CABA) will host the island's inaugural Greenhouse Technology Symposium on March 31 under the theme: 'Getting it Right'. State Minister in the Agriculture Ministry, J. C. Hutchinson will be the guest speaker at the event, which is slated to commence at 8:00 a.m. at the Hilton Kingston. In an...

Minister of State for Agriculture, J.C. Hutchinson, has outlined a number of initiatives being undertaken by his Ministry to address some of the problems being faced in the agricultural sector. Among the plans he outlined at the opening ceremony of the Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James on Monday (March 24), are an increase in the number of Rural Agricultural...

Secretary Manager at the Manchester Parish Council, Winston Palmer, has said that the permit park system, which was implemented in Mandeville some six months ago, has brought more order to the town. Mr. Palmer said that the system, which operates from Ward Avenue to Manchester Road, was set up to address the problem of congestion, which inconvenienced pedestrians and restricted...

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has said that initiatives are being pursued to increase airlift to Jamaica, particularly out of Europe. The Tourism Minister, who held discussions with airline partners at a travel trade show in Berlin recently, pointed out that an increase in airlift out of Europe will significantly impact visitor arrivals. "Much of the deficiencies we have had...

Chairman of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Dr. Omer Thomas, has said that technology will be at the forefront of the agency's operational restructuring process. Dr. Thomas, who was speaking at a JIS Think Tank session at the agency's head office in Kingston today (March 26), said that the use of technology is pivotal in promoting efficiency in the...